GENERAL INFO:
CAPITAL: WASHINGTON D.C.
THE USA HAS 50 STATES 48 WHICH ARE ON CONNECTED AND HAWAII AND ALASKA ARE ISLANDS
THE NATIONAL ANTHEM: THE STAR SPANGLES BANNER
COLORS: RED, WHITE, AND BLUE
HOLIDAYS
JAN. 1 NEW YEARS DAY
JAN. 21 MARTIN LUTHER KING DAY
PRESIDENTS DAY FEB. 18
FEB. 14 VALENTINES DAY
MARCH 24 EASTER
MAY 12 MOTHERS DAY
JUNE 14 FLAG DAY
JUNE 16 FATHERS DAY
JUNE 4 INDEPENDENCE DAY
OCTOBER 14 COLUMBUS DAY
OCTOBER 31 HALLOWEEN
NOVEMBER 5 ELECTION DAY
NOVEMBER 28 THANKSGIVING
DECEMBER 25 CHRISTMAS DAY
PRESIDENT: GEORGE BUSH(REPUBLICAIN)
LANGUAGE:ENGLISH
Government is one of humanity's oldest and most important institutions. From earliest times, some kind of government has been a vital part of every society. This is because every society needs some people to make and enforce decisions that affect conduct within the group. The term government also refers to the process of exercising power in a group.
Any formal or informal group—a family, a church, a baseball team, a club, a corporation, a labor union—may be said to have government. But when we speak of government, we generally mean public government, such as that of a nation, a state, a province, a city, or a village. This article mainly discusses the nature and powers of public governments.
Government of some kind affects every human activity in important ways. For that reason, most political scientists (specialists in the study of government) believe that government should not be studied by itself. They urge that when we study government we should also know something about anthropology, economics, history, philosophy, science, and sociology.
Elements of government
A number of basic elements are common to all governments. These elements are (1) rules of conduct, (2) sovereignty, (3) legitimacy, (4) jurisdiction, and (5) enforcement.Rules of conduct. Every group of people—from a family to a nation—has rules of conduct to govern the lives of its members. For example, a family may have a rule that all its members be on time for meals. This rule makes it possible for the family members to eat together and then go about their own business. It is meant to keep life running smoothly for group members.
The rules made by a group are really decisions about matters that affect the group as a whole. The decisions are designed to encourage or require certain kinds of behavior, or to discourage or forbid other kinds of behavior by individual members.
Sovereignty is supreme power or authority. A sovereign government has the authority to use force within its boundaries. Through the years, different ideas about the source of a public government's sovereignty have developed. An early idea was that a government ruled by divine right. This idea suggested that authority flowed to the government from God and was unlimited. Today, the people are regarded as the chief source of the government's authority in democratic countries.
Legitimacy is the acceptance by the people of the government's authority to exercise power. No political system can exist unless its government has such acceptance. The legitimacy of a government depends in part on the socialization of its people. Socialization is a learning process in which the people come to accept the standards of their society. Most countries promote socialization through educational systems that teach people to have positive views about their government. In this way, people develop loyalty to such symbols of the government as a flag or national anthem.
Jurisdiction means the right or power of making and enforcing rules or laws. The jurisdiction of a public government extends over all the people who live in a certain area. The only way a person can escape such jurisdiction is to move out of its area.
Public governments have broad functional jurisdiction–the range of activities to which their rules or laws apply. Public governments in the United States govern behavior that affects national defense, social welfare, the economy, marriage and divorce, public health, education, taxation, and transportation. In addition, these public governments regulate most businesses, professions, and trades.
Law enforcement. Rules of conduct are not likely to have much effect unless people obey them. If the members of a group were permitted to ignore or disobey its rules, a society could not operate. Soon there would be no law or order.
Most people obey the decisions of their group willingly. But some must be forced to obey by the threat of punishment. Clubs, corporations, and labor unions have officers who enforce their regulations. Cities, states, provinces, and nations have police officers, judges, and soldiers who enforce their laws. Enforcement usually means some kind of punishment for people found guilty of disobedience. Those who have the power to control behavior by making and enforcing the rules of a group are often called a power structure.
Probably the most important difference between private and public governments lies in how they enforce their rules or laws. Only public governments have the right to define certain acts as crimes or to use physical force against disobedient people. A private government may fine or even expel a disobedient member. But only a public government can legally imprison or execute a person
|
